Quietude… Power in the calm

21022012

I recently read an article by J.C. Ryle called “Peace! Be Still!” This was an amazing description of Mark 4:37-40 where Jesus was awoken by His disciples during a raging storm because of their fear of death. –Pause– Now I probably lost some readers and threw another group of readers into an analytical lens of how to look at Scripture. I pray that you all stick around for the duration, because I may learn something. Oh yah, you may also. –End Pause–

The picture above displays on a small-scale the power of a

shipwreck. What it must have been like to be on a galleon at sea in a storm. The experience of both insurmountable fear and breath-taking strength of the elements would have been truly awe-inspiring. As the disciples felt “a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full”, fear for their life must have been an understatement. Not only was the ship being battered by the waves and rolling back and forth, but Scripture tells us that the ship was “full”. How many of us have been in this situation? Likely not on a ship at sea, but in life. Where the pounding of responsibilities and tasks and stress and needs and work and honey-does and etc, etc, etc, seem to be over-whelming. Your life and mind-capacity are full. Where one more drip of anything, will certainly cause a break in the side or swamping of the boat.

We run to “wake up ” someone to help; the disciples run to Jesus who is found “asleep on a pillow”. How can you be calm? Do you not know the peril we are in? The disciples even go to the point of saying “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” How many feel that this is a true depiction of the your life? Someone tells you that they care, but when you rush to them, it appears that they are completely oblivious to the situation. Can’t you see that I am sinking here? Do you not care? Oh, how many times I have said this to precious people in my life – Mary, Bill Lewis, Chris Brady. The doubt I have had in their abilities.

In hearing the supplications of the disciples, Jesus arose. He “rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still”. Oh, what precious words these are. How many of us have a storm raging in our life, that only in the asking of our servant Savior, the heart could be calmed. Jesus returns to His followers with “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” Even those that walked with Him for 3 years and witnessed so much, had an unsettled heart at times. What great hope for us!!! God has placed so many people in our lives with so many experiences that we should only ask. Their lives have proven that we will make it through the storm of discontent. Between my Lord Jesus, my wife, Mary, and my mentor, Bill, I need only ask and they will help me see and feel the calm.

You have come so far in life. Allow yourself to have faith in those around you. Because in the Quietude of life, we allow ourselves to see the sun, feel the warmth of the day, and hear the music of our journey. As the world tends to throw insurmountable challenges at us, I compel you to seek advice from those that love you. They will help you see the calm.

Who knows, your shipwreck may be the start of something big! “Just sit right back and you hear a tale…”

11 responses

great one to revisit over and over! For in my storm, many years I’ve thought all hatches were battened down, and I was prepared. LIFE and friendships like yours and Mary’s are the peace of mind, that even though hatches will blow open and take on waves, you guys are the life preservers hanging on the wall, just knowing they are there helps to calm the storm in my head! Thanks for all you guys do!!! BBNQ!!!

I have had many opportunities to recite this verse to myself from Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God”. It is the answer when I am hurried and need refreshing, and it is the solution when I am fraught with worry over a situation.

Calmness has never been my strength in the craziness of the day to day little annoyances. I’m still learning that skill! Ironically, I am calmest in the face of the greatest and gravest of life’s challenges. I fully believe that strength comes from God, and I am thankful for it!

I will take the crutch any day. They forget that the average crutch is about 4 1/2 ft long. They fight the enemy at close range and he can easily get to their heart. We can hold him off forever with our crutch far away from our heart.